• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.280-286
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• 2014

Four thermophilic bacterial species, including the iron-reducing bacterium Geobacillus sp. G2 and the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfotomaculum sp. SRB-M, were employed to integrate a bacterial consortium. A second consortium was integrated with the same bacteria, except for Geobacillus sp. G2. Carbon steel coupons were subjected to batch cultures of both consortia. The corrosion induced by the complete consortium was 10 times higher than that induced by the second consortium, and the ferrous ion concentration was consistently higher in iron-reducing consortia. Scanning electronic microscopy analysis of the carbon steel surface showed mineral films colonized by bacteria. The complete consortium caused profuse fracturing of the mineral film, whereas the non-iron-reducing consortium did not generate fractures. These data show that the iron-reducing activity of Geobacillus sp. G2 promotes fracturing of mineral films, thereby increasing steel corrosion.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.205-210
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• 2006

The widespread use and distribution of chloroethylene organic compounds is of serious concern owing to their carcinogenicity and toxicity to humans and wildlife. In an effort to develop active bacterial consortia that could be useful for bioremediation of chloroethylene-contaminated sites in Africa, 16 combinations of 5 dichloroethylene (DCE)-utilizing bacteria, isolated from South Africa and Nigeria, were assessed for their ability to degrade cis- and trans- DCEs as the sole carbon source. Three combinations of these isolates were able to remove up to 72% of the compounds within 7 days. Specific growth rate constants of the bacterial consortia ranged between 0.465 and $0.716\;d^{-1}$ while the degradation rate constants ranged between 0.184 and $0.205\;d^{-1}$ with $86.36{\sim}93.53\;and\;87.47{\sim}97.12%$ of the stoichiometric-expected chloride released during growth of the bacterial consortia in cis- and trans-DCE, respectively. Succession studies of the individual isolates present in the consortium revealed that the biodegradation process was initially dominated by Achromobacter xylosoxidans and subsequently by Acinetobacter sp. and Bacillus sp., respectively. The results of this study suggest that consortia of bacteria are more efficient than monocultures in the aerobic biodegradation of DCEs, degrading the compounds to levels that are up to 60% below the maximum allowable limits in drinking water.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.225-238
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• 2021

CH₄-oxidizing and N₂O-reducing bacterial consortia were enriched from the rhizosphere soils of maize (Zea mays) and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea). Illumina MiSeq sequencing analysis was performed to comparatively analyze the bacterial communities of the consortia with those of the rhizosphere soils. Additionally, the effect of root exudate on CH₄ oxidation and N₂O reduction activities of the microbes was evaluated. Although the inoculum sources varied, the CH₄-oxidizing and N₂O-reducing consortia derived from maize and tall fescue were similar. The predominant methanotrophs in the CH₄-oxidizing consortia were Methylosarcina, Methylococcus, and Methylocystis. Among the N₂O-reducing consortia, the representative N₂O-reducing bacteria were Cloacibacterium, Azonexus, and Klebsiella. The N₂O reduction rate of the N₂O-reducing consortium from maize rhizosphere and tall fescue rhizosphere increased by 1.6 and 2.7 times with the addition of maize and tall fescue root exudates, respectively. The CH₄ oxidization activity of the CH₄-oxidizing consortia did not increase with the addition of root exudates. The CH₄-oxidizing and N₂O-reducing consortia can be used as promising bioresources to mitigate non-CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions during remediation of oil-contaminated soils.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.908-916
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• 2010

Fullerene-60 nanoparticles were used for studying their effect on the low-density polyethylene (LDPE) biodegradation efficiency of two potential polymer-degrading consortia comprising three bacterial strains each. At a concentration of 0.01% (w/v) in minimal broth lacking dextrose, fullerene did not have any negative influence upon the consortia growth. However, fullerene was found to be detrimental for bacterial growth at higher concentrations (viz., 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1%). Although addition of 0.01% fullerene into the biodegradation assays containing 5mg/ml LDPE subsided growth curves significantly, subsequent analysis of the degraded products revealed an enhanced biodegradation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) revealed breakage and formation of chemical bonds along with the introduction of ${\nu}C$-O frequencies into the hydrocarbon backbone of LDPE. Moreover, simultaneous thermogravimetric-differential thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTG-DTA) revealed a higher number of decomposition steps along with a 1,000-fold decrease in the heat of reactions (${\Delta}H$) in fullerene-assisted biodegraded LDPE, suggesting the probable formation of multiple macromolecular byproducts. This is the first report whereby fullerene-60, which is otherwise considered toxic, has helped to accelerate the polymer biodegradation process of bacterial consortia.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1951-1964
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• 2016

1,4-Dioxane-degrading bacterial consortia were enriched from forest soil (FS) and activated sludge (AS) using a defined medium containing 1,4-dioxane as the sole carbon source. These two enrichments cultures appeared to have inducible tetrahydrofuran/dioxane and propane degradation enzymes. According to qPCR results on the 16S rRNA and soluble di-iron monooxygenase genes, the relative abundances of 1,4-dioxane-degrading bacteria to total bacteria in FS and AS were 29.4% and 57.8%, respectively. For FS, the cell growth yields (Y), maximum specific degradation rate ($V_{max}$), and half-saturation concentration ($K_m$) were 0.58 mg-protein/mg-dioxane, $0.037mg-dioxane/mg-protein{\cdot}h$, and 93.9 mg/l, respectively. For AS, Y, $V_{max}$, and $K_m$ were 0.34 mg-protein/mg-dioxane, $0.078mg-dioxane/mg-protein{\cdot}h$, and 181.3 mg/l, respectively. These kinetics data of FS and AS were similar to previously reported values. Based on bacterial community analysis on 16S rRNA gene sequences of the two enrichment cultures, the FS consortium was identified to contain 38.3% of Mycobacterium and 10.6% of Afipia, similar to previously reported literature. Meanwhile, 49.5% of the AS consortium belonged to the candidate division TM7, which has never been reported to be involved in 1,4-dioxane biodegradation. However, recent studies suggested that TM7 bacteria were associated with degradation of non-biodegradable and hazardous materials. Therefore, our results showed that previously unknown 1,4-dioxane-degrading bacteria might play an important role in enriched AS. Although the metabolic capability and ecophysiological significance of the predominant TM7 bacteria in AS enrichment culture remain unclear, our data reveal hidden characteristics of the TM7 phylum and provide a perspective for studying this previously uncultured phylotype.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.900-908
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• 2016

The effects of algal inoculation on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total nitrogen (TN) removal, and indigenous bacterial dynamics were investigated in municipal wastewater. Experiments were conducted with municipal wastewater inoculated with either Chlorella vulgaris AG10032, Selenastrum gracile UTEX 325, or Scenedesmus quadricauda AG 10308. C. vulgaris and S. gracile as fast growing algae in municipal wastewater, performed high COD and TN removal in contrast to Sc. quadricauda. The indigenous bacterial dynamics revealed by 16S rRNA gene amplification showed different bacterial shifts in response to different algal inoculations. The dominant bacterial genera of either algal case were characterized as heterotrophic nitrifying bacteria. Our results suggest that selection of indigenous bacteria that symbiotically interact with algal species is important for better performance of wastewater treatment.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.27-35
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• 2024

It was known that crude oil can be mainly divided into saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes. If microbial biodegradation of asphaltenes is effectively viable, additional oil production will be expected from depleted oil reservoir. Meanwhile, biodegradation can be applied to other aspects, such as the bioremediation of spilled oil. In this case, the biodegradation of asphaltenes also plays an important role. It has been already reported that asphaltenes are decomposed by bacterial consortia. However, the biodegradation mechanism of asphaltenes has not been clearly presented. The major reason is that the molecular structure of asphaltenes is complicated and is mainly in a aggregated form. In this paper, it was presumed that the biodegradation process of asphaltenes may follow the microbial oxidation mechanism of saturates and aromatics which are easier biodegradable than asphaltenes among the crude oil components. In other words, the biodegradation process was explained by serial stages; the contact between asphaltenes and bacteria in the presence of biosurfactants, and the decomposition of alkyl groups and fused-rings within the asphaltene structure.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2021

Acid mine drainage (AMD) resulting from pyrite oxidation in mining areas, subsequently leads to soil acidification accompanied by lowering pH and high concentration of metals and metalloids in its surrounding environment. Regarding to this, the microbial amelioration has been considered as a promising option for a more cost-effective and eco-friendlier countermeasure, compared to the use of alkaline chemicals. This study was aimed to evaluate influencing factors in microbially-mediated amelioration of acidic soil spiked by simulated AMD. For this, microcosm experiments were conducted by acid-neutralizing bacterial consortium (dominated by Klebsiella sp. and Raoultella sp.) under the various conditions of AMD spikes (0-2,500 mg SO42-/L), together with acidic mine soil (0-100 g) or sphagnum peat (0-5 g) in the 200 mL of nutrient medium. The employed bacterial consortium, capable of resisting to high level of sulfate concentration (up to 1,500 mg SO42-/L) in low pH, generated the ammonium while concomitantly reduced the sulfate, subsequently contributing to the effective soil stabilization with an evolution of soil pH up to neutral. Furthermore, it demonstrates that suitable condition has to be tuned for successful microbial metabolism to facilitate with neutralization during practical application.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.195-203
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• 2018

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been widely used as an initial mucolytic agent and is generally used as an antioxidant to help alleviate various inflammatory symptoms. NAC reduces bacterial extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production, bacterial adhesion to the surface and strength of mature biofilm. The efficacy has been shown to inhibit proliferation of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In membrane bioreactor (MBR) processes, which contain a variety of gram negative bacteria, biofilm formation has become a serious problem in stable operation. In this study, use of NAC as an inhibitor of biofilm contamination was investigated using the center for disease control (CDC) reactors with MBR sludge. Biomass reduction was confirmed with CLSM images of membrane surfaces by addition of NAC, which was more efficient as the concentration of NAC was increased to 1.5 mg/mL. NAC addition also showed decreases in EPS concentrations of the preformed biofilm, indicating that NAC was able to degrade EPS in the mature biofilm. NAC addition was also effective to inhibit biofilm formation by MBR sludge, which consisted of various microorganisms in consortia.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1280-1290
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• 2014

In order to obtain the cellulolytic bacterial consortia, sediments from Great Basin hot springs (Nevada, USA) were sampled and enriched with cellulosic biomass as the sole carbon source. The bacterial composition of the resulting anaerobic ethanol-producing celluloytic bacterial consortium, named SV79, was analyzed. With methods of the full-length 16S rRNA library-based analysis and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, 21 bacteria belonging to eight genera were detected from this consortium. Clones with closest relation to the genera Acetivibrio, Clostridium, Cellulosilyticum, Ruminococcus, and Sporomusa were predominant. The cellulase activities and ethanol productions of consortium SV79 using different agricultural residues (sugarcane bagasse and spent mushroom substrate) and energy crops (Spartina anglica, Miscanthus floridulus, and Pennisetum sinese Roxb) were studied. During cultivation, consortium SV79 produced the maximum filter paper activity (FPase, 9.41 U/ml), carboxymethylcellulase activity (CMCase, 6.35 U/ml), and xylanase activity (4.28 U/ml) with sugarcane bagasse, spent mushroom substrate, and S. anglica, respectively. The ethanol production using M. floridulus as substrate was up to 2.63 mM ethanol/g using gas chromatography analysis. It has high potential to be a new candidate for producing ethanol with cellulosic biomass under anoxic conditions in natural environments.